Searches in relatives’ homes, friends’ houses and mountain shepherds’ huts are being conducted in recent hours by dozens of heavily armed police officers with fingers on triggers, hunting for three men believed to have participated in the deadly clashes in the village Borizia Heraklion that left two dead and four confirmed wounded. Criminal charges for premeditated murder and attempted murder have already been filed against two of the three wounded, as they allegedly participated in the unprecedented episodes on Saturday morning, where hundreds of bullets flew from one end of the village to the other. An entire village of 500-600 residents was split in half as members of two families exchanged gunfire. Another village resident was arrested for illegal possession of a hunting rifle, while three people are being sought – two belonging to one family and the third to the second.
Arrests of all those who participated in the deadly clash are imperative, but the issue that arises with Borizia is what happens next. What will happen after the relatives of the two victims, 39-year-old Fanouris Kargakis and 56-year-old Evangelia Fragkiadaki, have sworn revenge? The situation in the picturesque village located at the foothills of Mount Psiloritis is out of control, with the victims’ relatives verbally attacking even the police officers who were nearby to prevent possible retaliation.
Today, the two victims’ funerals will take place. The 39-year-old will be buried in the village cemetery, while Evangelia Fragkiadaki will be buried in Chania, almost at the same time. According to the case file compiled by police, the 39-year-old father of many children was the first to fall dead from gunfire. The 56-year-old’s murder occurred shortly after. She is characterized as collateral damage since she had come to the village just hours earlier for her father’s memorial service and hadn’t had time to leave. She received just one bullet in the back, which hit vital organs and she died instantly. In contrast, the 39-year-old received four bullets from two different weapons, in his legs, shoulder and other parts of his body. A box of bullets was found in his pocket.
Borizia Heraklion: The house bomb and the feud with a history
The explosion of hatred was triggered by an attack with an improvised explosive device on a 27-year-old’s house. According to some village residents, it’s speculated that the 39-year-old who was later murdered was the person who planted the bomb. However, nothing like this has been confirmed so far by police investigations.
The device was placed at the entrance of the house, owned by a 27-year-old member of the Fragkiadaki family. The young man bought an old house in the neighborhood of the Kargakis families and began renovating it. Relations between the two families were tense and a reconciliation was attempted, where the Kargakis family declared they would accept the peace only if the 27-year-old current owner didn’t fix the house. The condition was not accepted by the owner, resulting in a powerful bomb being placed at the house under renovation on Friday night, causing serious material damage.
The feud between the two families has a history dating back to the mid-1950s and especially the last five years. There were constant complaints about animals entering foreign fields to graze and causing damage. There were scuffles and clashes, but never any incident with weapons. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, the elders proceeded with a “reconciliation,” setting up a godparent relationship between the two families. Everything seemed to calm down until recently, when two members of one family were arrested for livestock theft and believed they were “ratted out” by members of the opposing family. The situation again seemed out of control, until the explosion of the powerful bomb occurred, which thoroughly shook both the mechanism and the two village families as a move.
Police conducted raids on village houses throughout yesterday. “The presence of the Hellenic Police in the village will not stop until all those responsible are brought to justice,” emphasized Hellenic Police Headquarters spokesperson Konstantia Dimoglidou in statements from Borizia village. However, residents feel that the worst is ahead and are anxious about tomorrow – when police forces withdraw. What will happen then and who will pay the consequences of this deadly clash. It’s no coincidence that most family heads sent their children to other villages and cities fearing for their safety. Borizia resembles a ruined city where fear has overtaken everyone.
